River Hill's run ends at Brunswick, 76-55 Hawks finish at 5-18 after hosts shoot 71 percent

Class 1A/Boys basketball

March 06, 1997|By Jeff Seidel | Jeff Seidel,SPECIAL TO THE SUN

BRUNSWICK -- Brunswick showed the young River Hill team the difficulty of winning when an opponent shoots 71 percent in a half and has an 18-0 run.

The host Railroaders used the 18-point run to break open a close game, and they eventually made 20 of 29 from the field in the second half to score a 76-55 victory over River Hill in a Class 1A South Region semifinal last night.

Brunswick (18-7), which plays Long Reach in the region final tomorrow night, dominated in several areas. The Railroaders outrebounded the Hawks, 39-17, and made 30 of 52 field goals overall.

But River Hill (5-18) made the Railroaders work. The game was tied at 22 in the final moments of the first half when Pat Fenzel (10 points, 10 rebounds) tossed in a follow-up shot at the buzzer for Brunswick.

The Railroaders, led by Brent King (16 points, 12 rebounds), Nathan Shankle (19 points) and Frank Clements (12 points, 13 rebounds), then scored the first 16 points of the second half and blanked the Hawks for the first 6: 18.

"We went over six minutes without scoring, and you can't do that against a good team," said River Hill coach Tom Schneider. "That buries anybody."

The Railroaders kept on burying the Hawks, however, as they hit nine of 12 from the field in the third quarter plus 11 of 16 in the fourth period.

The Hawks missed their first six shots of the period while Brunswick sank five of its first six. King hit three consecutive shots, including a tough high bank shot and a leaning jumper as the Railroaders charged onward.

"The second half has been a problem for us," said Justin Brewer of River Hill, who finished with a game-high 24 points. "We panicked a little bit, I think."

Brunswick used its size advantage to come up with numerous easy shots. Twenty-two of the Railroaders' 30 baskets were layups.

The rebounding advantage also came into play as Brunswick came up with several points on put-backs.

Schneider said the Hawks felt that controlling the tempo would lessen the effects of the size disadvantage, and River Hill executed its game plan to perfection in the first half.

The Hawks, led by Brewer and Jay Kreider (10 points), hit eight of 16 and led for part of the time. Brewer kept hitting outside shots, and River Hill slowed the pace so much that it took only five shots in the period -- making three.

River Hill finished 3-17 during its initial regular season, but the Hawks then beat Smithsburg and Catoctin in the playoffs to make the region semifinals.

"We knew we weren't as big or as strong as they were," said Schneider. "We worked hard, though."

Long Reach 65, Boonsboro 46: Turon Kosh scored 20, Chris Smith had 15 and Devin Conwell added 12 as Long Reach (9-13) in just its first season, advanced to the Class 1A South region championship game tomorrow against Brunswick by downing host Boonsboro (9-16). Cory Linton paced Boonsboro with 17. Long Reach led at the half 43-27.